House of Hades
by I'm having an identity crisis
Summary: Well, somebody had to do it. SPOILERS FOR MOA. A representation of House of Hades, which I'm sure there are already twenty of by now. Percabeth, Pason/Jasper, Lena (LeoxReyna, because I'm not leaving Leo all lonely like Riordan seems bound and determined to do), and Frazel. Go on. Read it. You know you want to.
1. Freefalling

House of Hades

**A representation of House of Hades, which I'm sure there are already twenty of. Percabeth, Jasper, Lena (LeoxReyna, because I'm not leaving Leo all lonely like Riordan seems bound and determined to do), and Frazel. Go on. Read it. You know you want to.**

**Please note this is my first multi-chapter. For that matter, it's my first PJO **_**anything**_**.**

**And... Let House of Hades begin.**

**Percy**

There was nothing quite like freefalling – that is to say, there is nothing quite so utterly terrifying. For the first few seconds, all Percy was looking at was Annabeth, Annabeth, Annabeth, and then he noticed that the whistling in his ears and Annabeth was completely petrified, and it was the St. Louis Arch all over again, which was an memory best experienced _once_. "We're gonna be okay!" Percy yelled, with no real evidence to back up his claim (a bad mistake when you're dating a daughter of the wisdom goddess), and he wished he had Piper's charmspeak, Jason's flying powers, Frank's shape shifting, or even Leo's tool belt. Gods, even Hazel could send a prayer to dear ol' dad for a soft landing.

(Percy could send a prayer too, but something told him Hades wouldn't be listening.)

But apparently Annabeth had decided that evading certain death was more important than lecturing Percy on factual accuracy, because she was looking down and yelling, "THERE!"

And, lo and behold, a lake in the middle of Tartarus. Percy didn't argue schematics, but he was pretty sure that didn't happen. Annabeth gripped him tightly and he hugged her to his chest, veering for the water. He could feel its pull on him, and he tried to draw it towards him.

Nothing.

No pulling in his gut, no water spiraling to meet him. Nothing.

Had he lost his powers?

Percy grimaced, and Annabeth screamed. "PERCY!"

Percy looked down. The oasis of water was now a bubbling pit of lava, and Percy veered again.

The ground was coming up too fast – and _gods,_ Annabeth. No, not Annabeth – better him than Annabeth.

Percy angled himself so he was below her, ignoring her small fists pounding out a rhythm onto his chest (Leave it to him to find a suicidal girlfriend) yelling at him to stop being so selfless all the time, you _ (Insert swear words of choice, she covered all of them pretty thoroughly). If it came to _that_, he would hopefully absorb the majority of the blow. Percy vaguely remembered he hadn't had much ambrosia or nectar on him at the time, only a handful of cubes and a canteen – _stupid, stupid, stupid _–

And then they weren't falling anymore.

It was as if they were being lifted by an invisible hand, and a deep laugh reverberated in Percy's mind, calling forth every doubt and insecurity he had ever experienced – _you're stupid; freak; no one likes you;_ as well as the more recent – _your godly parent doesn't want you; Annabeth doesn't even like you; a son of Poseidon afraid to drown? _Images of his friends and family dying in assorted ways flashed by, all with Percy standing next to them, unable to do a thing.

It seemed Annabeth heard it too, from the way her face went ghost pale and she edged closer to Percy – she had been jostled away from him when they hit the invisible force. Percy instinctually put his arm around his girlfriend, and she relaxed immediately.

Not that he was paying attention or anything.

_Perseus Jackson. _It wasn't a voice Percy could easily forget, even though he thought he'd never hear it again.

It was like knives scraping across metal – ancient, cold and powerful.

_Kronos._

**Dun dun dun. Like it? Hate it? Mad because it's short? Mad because there's a cliffhanger (Gods, if someone mentions MOA I will **_**scream.**_**)? Just mad? **

**If you like it, please review... Okay, that never works. How about this: reviewers get cookies.**

**Cyber cookies. But it's the thought that counts, right?**

**I shall try to write soon... But if I forget, send me a PM and I'll work on it! ^-^**

**- Identity Crisis**


	2. The winged goddess lady drops in

**Okay, here we go! This one's longer, I swear. Also, I know there are supposed to be 5 books in this series. Do you want me to write this like it's the last book in the series or like there will be another one after it? And while you chew on that, here's the chapter:**

**Hazel**

Hazel felt useless. Honestly, she didn't _plan _on feeling sorry for herself while she should be doing something productive, but it just _happened_.

Leo was off dissecting Archimedes' scrolls in his room, and the door had been locked, bolted, and there was a giant "Keep out" sign on it. (Subtlety was never Leo's strong suit.) She thought about telling Leo that burying himself in work wouldn't ease the guilt that he didn't deserve, but she figured her words would fall on deaf ears.

Nico had taken Frank into the living room and was having a "conversation" with him... Which scared Hazel, but she figured they were better left alone and uninterrupted. Hazel knew she would never be Bianca, but they were still half-brother and sister, which meant Frank was probably going to be at the wrong end of a certain demigod's Stygian iron sword. Even in the twenty-first century, it seemed, older brothers were hilariously overprotective.

(But now, they were carrying lethal weapons.)

Jason and Piper were directing the ship and discussing the best route to Epirus. Hazel had tried to jump into their conversation a couple times, and, to their credit, they tried to include her. But Hazel's geographic education was seriously lacking, so she wandered off after a while...

Which is how she found herself in the stables, gazing up at Annabeth's mother's statue. It had been kept in remarkably good condition, and she could see the resemblance between Annabeth and her mother – but Annabeth seemed more youthful, less strict. Hazel understood why the Greeks worshipped her right then – even as a statue, Athena's eyes were filled with calculating wisdom. A small statue of Nike (and 'small' was relative, Nike was at least six feet tall) was in Athena's right hand.

"Umm... Hello. I'm Hazel... Hazel Levesque." Hazel said nervously. The statue was intimidating, and now Athena's eyes seemed to be laughing at her, as if to say, 'Oh, really? I didn't know that. Not like I'm the goddess of _wisdom_ or anything.' Hazel felt a little braver, and ventured out with, "and, um, as awkward as it is talking to a statue, we kind of need your help."

"I mean, I know you know Annabeth is in Tartarus – and I realize you're busy with important goddess of wisdom things, and I know you can't get her out, but we need to know what to do... The Romans, Reyna – she's going to fight Camp Half-Blood, and –"

"I _get_ it." An annoyed huff sounded from Hazel's left, and she whipped around towards the noise. "'Oh, help me, great goddess. Make me successful.' I swear, you mortals are so _needy _sometimes."

"I'm not a mortal, Pallas-" Hazel stopped when she saw who else was in the room. If this was Athena, the statue totally sucked in terms of resemblance to its muse. The woman before her was short, perhaps four foot nine, with glossy brown hair that was put up in a ponytail. She had frigid blue eyes, was wearing athletic shorts and a sports jacket, and constantly tapped her foot impatiently on the stable floor.

"Why does everyone – whatever." She rolled her eyes and bent down to tie her tennis shoe. It was then that Hazel noticed the pair of wings on the goddess's back. "Don't stare." The goddess called, as if reading Hazel's thoughts.

And then everything clicked. "Nike?" Hazel whispered.

The goddess jumped up, smiling warmly at being recognized...

And then stayed up, flapping her wings to the same beat she tapped her foot to. "Oops." Nike said, scrunching her nose as she touched the ground once more. "I hate it when that happens."

"Umm..." Hazel replied. "Should I go get the others?"

"No! Not enough time." A strand of hair fell out of Nike's perfect ponytail, and she quickly put it back in place. "I'm breaking the rules as is."

"But-"

"Yeah, Pallas Athena is a bit busy at the moment." Nike said. "Everybody is." Hazel didn't ask for an explanation; with the gods, sometimes ignorance was bliss. "But here's the important part of this: go to Camp Half-Blood first."

"But Annabeth and Percy –"

"Noble of you, to put your friends first. You sound just like Percy."  
"Funny, you seem to know a lot about him when he's never mentioned meeting you." Hazel bit out scathingly. Anger made her fearless, and this goddess had just suggested she go and leave two of her friends in Tartarus. It might not be her fatal flaw, but to even suggest such a thing was simply... _Goddess_. The word sunk in. "With all due respect, Nike."

"Reasonable," Nike said. "Percy hasn't met me, but I've met him: every time he wins. In _anything_." She dragged out the word like a sigh. "All that work, all those winners, and what do I get? A shoe brand."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Was all Hazel could think of to say.

"Eh," she waved a hand dismissively, "some immortals get much less." Hazel was beginning to like Nike. She made a mental note to sacrifice something to her in the brazier tomorrow.

"Why aren't you confused, though? I thought that Greek gods were having trouble with their Roman forms?"

Nike nodded. "No, Victoria and I have always gotten along... We're both busy, busy, busy!" She smiled brightly. "You wouldn't believe the number of participation trophies I've had to give out this year alone." Nike flapped her wings again, as if remembering she still had things to do. "This advice comes from Pallas Athena herself, Hazel. Go to the Greek camp. Your friends will be fine."

"I want your word on that."

"I cannot affect what happens in Tartarus... Not directly."

"Then affect it indirectly. Swear on the river Styx."

"I swear on the river Styx that I will protect your friends in Tartarus to the best of my ability."

"Then we have a deal."

Thunder boomed in the distance. "And that would be my cue." Nike nodded. "Goodbye, Hazel Levesque."

"Goodbye, Nike."

With a small _pop!,_ Nike was gone.

Hazel opened the stable door and entered the deck, where the other five demigods were. "Change in course." She said.

"We're going to Camp Half-Blood."

**For those of you affected by short-term memory loss, here's the question again: There are supposed to be 5 books in this series. Do you want me to write HOH like it's the last book in the series or like there will be another one after it?**


	3. Kronos says hi

**You are all the best reviewers ever! (Just nod and pretend like you've never heard that one before, okay?)**

**Without further ado, *ahem*, Chapter 3.**

**Annabeth**

Percy's eyes widened, which Annabeth took as a good sign towards proof that she wasn't going insane.

_Welcome to my domain. _Kronos laughed.

"False bravado," Annabeth muttered, mostly to herself, but she could tell Percy was listening. She shuffled closer to him, their arms still around each other. "He can't do a thing."

_Insolent child! _Kronos snapped, but he didn't fry her to a crisp – more good news.

"He's powerless. The pieces of him are scattered so far across Tartarus that he won't rise for at least a millennia." She said, a bit louder. Her brain worked itself into overdrive with formulas and statistics. There was no way Kronos could amass enough physical energy to take on a host or even use his powers over this meager amount of time.

"Get out of here!" Percy yelled, taking a step away from Annabeth to un-sheath Riptide, glancing down at Annabeth before looking up at the sky angrily.

_It will be my pleasure to watch you die. _Kronos' voice retreated, and she heard Percy mutter something about "If I had a nickel for every time I heard that" while he turned Riptide into a ballpoint pen. Their fingers twined together.

"Are you okay?" Percy said, cupping her face in his hands, checking for injuries. Annabeth nodded, but he took out a square of ambrosia. "Here."

Annabeth refused it. "We need to ration it, Percy. Who knows how long we'll be down here." But Percy was insistent, and eventually they settled on her eating half the amount he had originally laid out. Annabeth immediately felt better, cuts and bruises she didn't know she had quickly healing themselves, and her ankle ceasing to throb.

They lapsed into silence (in the middle of Tartarus, without a plan), but not the awkward kind. With Percy, words were meaningless. They knew each other so well that it was almost scary having to be away from him – like part of her was missing. They could express everything they needed to with a single glance (except for logical reasoning, which continued to avoid Percy like the plague). Honestly, what possessed that boy to make him _jump down into Tartarus to be with her?_

She hadn't realized she had voiced that last thought until Percy replied, "Why wouldn't I?"

Annabeth didn't know whether to hug him or throttle him. "Because it's not _safe_, Percy." Annabeth said in her best _duh_ tone, and her voice began to break when she continued, eventually breaking down. "Because this is Tartarus and there are monsters here and things could happen to you – Percy, I lost you once."

Percy drew her into a hug, talking into her ear. "Wise girl – wise girl, calm down." He hadn't said her nickname in forever, and it fit so, so well. And, of course, that made her cry. Percy, to his credit, didn't respond badly. "Annabeth, I know it sucks. But you would've done the same for me."

He paused a beat, to gauge her reaction. "I love you too, Annabeth."

Oh, _gods._ She had almost convinced herself he hadn't heard that. She blushed furiously, but he kissed her. (That kind of made up for it.)

"You make it really hard to be mad at you." Annabeth grumbled.

"It's a talent." Percy kissed her cheek. "I'm lucky you love me."

"Yes, yes you are." Annabeth replied promptly. "Now... Where are we?"

They spent the next hour looking around for anything. Tartarus reminded Annabeth of a giant, underground cave – stalagmites and stalactites, the latter hanging so high up Annabeth couldn't see out of the pit. Had they really fallen that far? Everything was damp and dark, and cold too, like someone had turned the air conditioner up on high on a rainy day. Percy and Annabeth took out their swords for the glow the celestial bronze provided, examining the surroundings. It seemed they were at a crossroad of sorts – there were four paths making a perfect X that extended too far to see.

Annabeth took out her pack. She had seven squares of ambrosia and a canteen of nectar. When Percy joined her, putting down his own inventory, they had thirteen ambrosia squares and two canteens. They threw in their other supplies as well – Annabeth had some waterproof matches, a length of yarn, and a couple crackers. Percy had a piece of beef jerky (Annabeth internally sighed. _Boys._), a compass, and his wallet.

Percy's stomach growled. _Great_, Annabeth thought, _we survive a fall into Tartarus and then starve to death_.

She started thinking. "Percy, do you have a dramacha?"

"Yeah," he said, taking it out of his pocket, "why?"

"Do you think we can Iris-message?"

"Worth a shot." Percy shrugged. "It might be too dark."

Annabeth began positioning Percy next to a particularly humid corner. "Move Riptide there – no, _there._ Good. Now take my dagger..." She fussed and moved Percy's hands until they were just so, and then she offered up the coin. "O Fleecy, do me a solid. Show Leo Valdez on Argo II."

Nothing. "It was a long shot anyhow." Annabeth said. "Which way?"

"Huh?"

"Which way should we go, Seaweed Brain?"

"Left and hope for the best?" He said, pointing down one of the dark passageways.

Annabeth began to look around. "See if you can find anything that could point us in the right direction- a rock or some footprints... But don't leave. I'm not sure we could find our way back."

A minute passed in silence, with both of them searching, and then Percy gasped.

"What is it?" Annabeth queried. Percy tried to hold her back, his eyes still trained on whatever he had seen. He looked horrified, an Annabeth became even more determined, trying to look over Percy's shoulder. "C'mon, it can't be that bad-"

She stopped short, because it _was_ that bad.

It was a corpse.

And it was wearing a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt.

**Dun dun dun. I decided this was a mean cliffhanger, so I'm posting Chapter Four tommorow. It'll be a Percy chapter. Was this enough Percabeth for you? (As much as I love writing fluff, I'm trying to also put in an actual storyline. *le gasp*)**

**- Identity Crisis**


	4. Nike, the goddess of overpriced footwear

**Percy**

"Oh my gods." Annabeth said. Percy walked closer to the body and flipped it over. It had been here a while – the flesh had melted away to reveal white bone underneath. "Oh my gods." She repeated. The skeleton had a celestial bronze chainsaw clutched in one hand, and his Camp Half-Blood shirt was stained with his own dried blood.

(With that lovely mental picture, Percy turned a little green.)

Annabeth took the dramacha and put it in the skeleton's jaw, and then stood up, flushing when she realized Percy was watching her. "He deserves a proper burial, but we don't have time." She reasoned with her boyfriend.

Percy just shook his head. "You're amazing, you know that?" He asked, and her face goteven more red. "This way." Percy said, pointing towards the path the skeleton seemed to be going towards and walking forward. "... Annabeth?"

"Percy, do you see that?" Annabeth pointed. "It's a rainbow."  
Percy blinked. It was. There was a face inside of it, too.

"Hello, demigods." The brunette inside of the rainbow smiled. "I am Nike."

"The shoe brand?" Percy blurted out.

He was soon chastised by Annabeth. "Percy, that's Nike, the goddess of victory." She turned to the image. "I beg your pardon, but I thought Iris-messages didn't work?"

"Perks of being immortal. I promised a friend of yours, Hazel, that I'd help you two get out of there alive." Nike replied. _Hazel._ It was comforting to think that Hazel had somehow arrange a favor (from a goddess she didn't even know) for their sake. "You being here was not the will of the gods – your parents are finally agreeing on something, even if it is only that you shouldn't be down here – but it is the will of the prophecy."

"There's a titan here." Percy snarled. It was not a question. "Did you send us here on purpose?"

Nike looked horrified. "No! we would never." (Percy didn't buy it.) "There are,however, two Titans here. I cannot tell you when or where, but I do know _who._"

"Then... Who?" Annabeth asked, much more politely than Percy.

"The titans Thoon and Agrios, the anti-Artemis and Apollo."

"Okaaaay." Percy said, hoping Annabeth wouldn't quiz him on this later.

"Your path will be long and hard, and there will be many dangers on it, but I have seen you two before, and I trust you will prevail."

"We will do our best." Annabeth nodded.

Percy gestured to Annabeth. "What she said."

"Percy!" Annabeth cried, her eyes opening wide in disbelief. Percy shrugged. He'd said worse to all-powerful beings.

"I must take my leave. And Percy?" He looked up. "Things are not always as they seem. Your enemies can also be your greatest allies. Don't forget that."

Percy nodded slowly. "Will do."

Nike swept a hand through the rainbow, and their connection severed. "That was interesting." Annabeth remarked. "What do you think she meant – about that last part?"

"I have no idea." Percy shrugged, pulling out Riptide. "She probably wants us to team up with somebody we've fought before."

"As if," Annabeth snorted. "Does she think we're insane? Anything that we've fought here is down in this hole because of us. They won't exactly be itching to thank us for it."

Percy nodded in agreement. "After you," he teased, gesturing towards the path ahead.

Annabeth took out her dagger. "Let's go."

They walked for forever, and eventually the path opened up, the solid walls becoming large roadblocks – hard to avoid, but at least they could run if all else failed. When Percy turned around, he saw that they had come from a large boulder. "A cave," Annabeth squinted. "interesting." Percy flipped out his compass – they were headed Northwest.

He lost track of how long it took, aware of nothing but the growling of his stomach. He and Annabeth took a cracker each, but he wasn't sure if that made it better or worse.

Percy cleared his throat after a while, breaking the silence. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Annabeth breathed. "Are you sure we're going in the right direction?"

"Not really." Percy admitted. "But where else should we go?"

As they walked, more and more objects began to appear. Annabeth picked up a cement cockroach at one point. "The detail is amazing." She said, showing Percy the tiny figurine.

A sharp cracking sound echoed throughout the open area. Percy's eyes opened wide in surprise, and they were back-to-back in an instant, their weapons drawn and the cement cockroach on the floor, where it had broken in half.

"Well, that was simply unnecessary." A woman's voice called, breaking the silence with her thick, middle-eastern accent. "I was quite fond of that one, you know."

Percy turned around to Annabeth, who already had a good view of the person speaking. It was a tall, old woman with wrinkled, coffee colored skin. She might have appeared regal, even stunning once, except for the tiny fact that she had snakes for hair.

"Medusa." Annabeth said, her voice filled with contempt. Medusa was wearing sunglasses, but Percy could practically see the amusement in her eyes.  
"Oh, don't say it like that. You make me feel like a monster."

"You are a monster." While that was physically true, Percy got the feeling that that wasn't how Annabeth meant it.

"Oh, dearie, I'm reformed now. My time in Tartarus has changed me for the better."

"I highly doubt that." Annabeth said, advancing towards Medusa with her dagger still drawn.

"Oh, Annabeth. Don't be like that. Won't you come in for tea?"

"I'd rather kill you before you stab us in the back."

"Annabeth." Percy grabbed her elbow. "Remember what Nike said."

Annabeth hesitated. "Never thought I'd see the day when you were the voice of reason." She grumbled, sheathing her dagger.

And with that, they followed Medusa into her lair.

**Is Medusa really changed for the better? Or is Annabeth correct in suspecting her? Only time will tell...**


	5. Cannons and daggers and pillows, oh my!

**Sorry this update took so long. I had a SS project, and my printer was down... But I got everything done, so all's well that ends well, I guess. Here's part five:**

**Piper**

It took a couple minutes for Hazel to explain how she met Nike and that they had to be at Camp Half Blood, and they had to be there, like, five minutes ago. "Got it," Leo nodded, walking up to the prow of the ship and communicating the message to Festus before readjusting their course.

"So Nike didn't want to talk to any of us?" Jason asked. Her boyfriend looked like his pride had been wounded.

"She said there wasn't enough time." Hazel explained, and the group launched into a conversation.

Piper sighed and walked away. Sometimes her boyfriend could just be... So... Roman. Not that that was a bad thing, it just irked her every once in a while, to realize how different they really were.

Coach Hedge had returned Katoptris an hour after they boarded, and her hand rested lightly on the dagger's hilt. She felt a surge of affection for its original owner, with her own tragic love story, but just as quickly it was snuffed out. _She probably enjoyed all the attention. _Helen – or what people had said of her – reminded her of Drew. Just being pretty didn't get you everything; Piper reflected, smiling wryly at the irony of Tristan McLean's daughter thinking that, seeing as her father's career was solely based on his good looks.

"You going to do anything with it?" Jason inquired, coming up behind Piper and resting his head on top of hers. "Or are you just going to sit here and look pretty all day?"

Piper suddenly felt ashamed. Her boyfriend was perfect, yes, sometimes annoyingly so, but he was hers. Hers, not Drew's, not Reyna's, she thought with a small smile before being washed over with guilt again. Drew was one thing – the girl deserved every ounce of hatred Piper gave her, but Reyna seemed nice, unnecessarily so since Jason and Reyna had once been so close... Piper didn't know if she could sit there calmly if she had been in Reyna's place. If the war ended and no one was –

She couldn't afford to think like that. They _would_ all survive, and she and Reyna _would_ have a nice long talk, and they_ would _be friends.

"Not worth it." She said, letting go of the dagger. "I almost don't want to see."

"Then what's wrong?" Jason peered down at her. "Hey, look at me. Tell me what you're worried about."

She could have said a million things right then, from 'you' to 'our people are going to war with each other in a couple hours, what do you think?' but she didn't say any of them. "I miss Cabin Ten." She admitted, almost whispering.

"The pink dollhouse? Pipes, you hated it there. Said so yourself."

"Yeah, but I miss Lacy, Mitchell, and even the shoes of shame a little bit." She frowned, biting her lip. "I feel bad about going on a quest, you know?" She looked up at Jason. "Almost like I've left them at the mercy of Drew."

"Well, if you hadn't gone, your wonderful boyfriend would be dead fifty times over." Jason laughed, and Piper joined in, mostly because it was true. (Demigod relationships were _really_ messed up, Piper reflected).

"Don't you forget it, mister." She poked his chest playfully and Jason clutched the spot that she had touched dramatically.

"C'mon, Piper. Let's go inside." He slipped his hand into hers and they walked in like that, hand in hand.

Everyone smiled guiltily at Piper and Jason, ceasing their conversation as they walked in. Jason looked to Piper, who was raising her eyebrow at Hazel. Hazel mouthed _later,_ and Piper nodded. She could wait.

"So..." Piper began, glancing up at Jason. The said blond had on his best 'authority figure' face, which, now that Piper thought about it, was just his normal face.

"Leo. How far along are we?" Jason inquired, his face a mask of professionalism. Piper happily noted he still hadn't let go of her hand.

"Two hours out." Leo said. "But you really need to check this out."

Out the windows that broadcasted images of the Greek camp was an army. The pictures moved with no sound, which gave it an eerie effect. Piper pressed her nose against the glass, where she could clearly see Wood and Water Nymphs marching about angrily. Saytrs lifted their reed pipes and played out odd melodies that made Piper want to tear off her ears.

Swords, daggers, knives and guns loaded with celestial bronze bullets were out, the children of Ares, Tyche, Hermes and Nemesis wielding them facing west, the direction of the Roman's Camp Jupiter, and no doubt the direction that their army was marching from.

The Apollo cabin was divided evenly, half in the trees with bows notched, and half handing out nectar and ambrosia in some kind of military-style canteen that could probably withstand a nuclear apocalypse, the last with the Hebe cabin helping.

Pollux and the Demeter cabin built up walls and blockades of plants; the Athena cabin was standing behind the entire Hephaestus cabin, who were manning five scary-looking cannons. The Athena campers, led by Malcolm, had out a couple of protractors, plotting out where to move the cannon, but they had their hands on their weapons, ready to fight.

Aphrodite and Iris were pretty fired up, and the children of Hypnos were momentarily not yawning, armed with some suspicious looking celestial bronze pillows.

Hecate's campers, perhaps the strangest of the bunch, were muttering things under their breath while ancient Greek words popped up in glowing colors. Piper recognized _protection, attack, fire, _and _ice,_ and made a mental note that Hecate was pretty scary_._

"_No,_" Piper breathed, as if her charmspeak could stop what was going to happen. "_No, no, no_," she whispered, tears streaming down her face as Jason drew her onto his chest, leaving her sobbing into his shirt.

Camp Half-Blood was going to war... Again.

And they would be too late to stop it.

**Or will they? BWAHAHAHAHA. Your review decides... Next chapter, we revisit our OTP in Tartarus, from Annabeth's POV.**


	6. Percy should keep his mouth shut

**Annabeth**

Annabeth was never really the kind of person to go to bed angry. By that time, her enemies had usually fallen prey to whatever trap she had carefully laid out, and that made her feel _much _better.

But there was always time for starting new traditions, because she was already yawning once Medusa had put on a pot of tea. She looked at her boyfriend guiltily. He was trying really hard, she could tell, to not show her that he was starving.

She looked over at Medusa. Maybe now was the time for trying new things.

Fall into Tartarus? Check.

Freak out? Check.

Trust Medusa? ...

No check.

Annabeth knew she should, since Percy did, and all, but the woman hated her mother, and, by extension, her. She might've bought her being civil to Percy, but the 'I've changed' act was a little overdone. She looked over at Medusa, who was boiling the tea leaves and humming merrily.

She would wait, and watch.

And when Medusa revealed her true nature once again, she would strike.

After all, she was a daughter of Athena.

"So is there anything to eat here?" Percy asked, lounging back on a sofa. Medusa turned, gesturing towards the fridge.

"Over there." Percy opened the fridge, not questioning the

For Tartarus, it was a nice place. Persian rugs were on the floor, and the soft, constant drips of water from the stalactites were muffled by light jazz music. There were two doors, one heading outside, and when Medusa's snakes caught her looking at the other one, they hissed quietly. Annabeth made a mental to look inside it later. There was a chessboard on the table and two sofas that looked really comfortable. Of course, on the downside, it felt forty degrees too cold, the humidity was almost unbearable, and Medusa's snakes were constantly watching their every move.

"You want anything?" Percy called over to her; she nodded mutely and he brought her a plate. "Like our picnic," He mused.

"Do you remember what happened then? We almost died." Annabeth laughed. It had been a while since she'd laughed.

"So that makes it like every other date we've been on, right?" He asked, munching on the hamburger he had decided on.

Annabeth sighed, mostly because his statement was true. Their picnic wasn't an isolated incident. Last time they went on a walk together, a particularly angry empousa had almost blown up the Western hemisphere. Gods forbid they decided to get some coffee – the shop owner would probably be Gaea, given their luck. "I just wish we could have a normal date." She whispered, feeling silly for saying so. They were in _Tartarus _and might die. And she wanted a normal date. Annabeth blushed furiously. "Y'know, forget I said anything."

"No." Percy smirked at her, doing little to help the heat rushing to her cheeks. "Not now. But... Once we get out of here, I'll take you out, okay? No gods, no monsters, no Aphrodite's-hairbrush-went-missing accidents, okay?" She nodded. "I promise, Annabeth. I promise we're getting you out of here."

"Don't think I missed that _you_, Seaweed Brain. _We_ are getting out of here, because I'm not leaving _you_."

"I just can't slip anything past you, can I?" He groaned. "Here I am, trying to be a good boyfriend-"

"There's a difference between that and being suicidal." Annabeth crossed her arms.  
"Touching." Medusa said, the warmth out of her voice. Annabeth sucked in a breath. It was just as she'd suspected. "Funny, last time you _visited,_" the snakes on her head hissed angrily, "you never mentioned you were an item."

"Percy." Annabeth hissed. "Don't. Look. Up."

Medusa laughed as they shut their eyes. "You always were too smart for your own good, daughter of Athena."

Annabeth heard the unmistakable sound of Riptide coming out of its pen form, and she drew her dagger. "Careful," Medusa growled, "you wouldn't want to stab your gir– ARGH!" Her sentence was cut short by a cry of pain.

"_Don't_ talk about her like that." Percy ordered. Annabeth moved towards his voice, standing beside him (or what she hoped was beside him, anyway).

"Fools. You're being naïve, putting your faith in the gods. How many of _their_ wars will you fight? _It. Will. Never. End_." She promised, every word barbed with thorns. "And your children? Your children's children? Will they be pawns of Olympus as well? Spare me, children. Spare me, renounce your parents, and she will spare you. Perhaps even your friends as well."

"Don't listen to her, Percy." She snarled, even though Medusa's words carried a hint of reason. This is the last war, she reminded herself. This, and then... She flashed back to Camp Jupiter, and Percy showing her New Rome. She could have a life there, a good life. She could get a job and go to college. She could be _normal._

"Isn't that what you're scared of, Percy? Losing them? Losing... _Her_?" Medusa's hand caressed her cheek, and Annabeth flinched, making a show of seeming repulsed while attempting to locate Medusa's head. She only had one shot... Medusa prattled on, seemingly unaware of Annabeth's plan for her demise. "Gaea can make you _both_ immortal. You'll never have to fear for her safety again."

"I can take care of myself." Annabeth said coldly. "So thanks, but no thanks." She lifted her knife and plunged it into the spot where Medusa's throat should be in one swift motion. A satisfying "Ack" noise let her know that her dagger had hit home.

When she opened her eyes, Medusa was already dissolving. "Where do you think she'll go?" Annabeth asked.

"Hopefully, very far away." Percy said. "She won't reform for a while, that's for sure." He looked around nervously. "Let's get going... Before the neighbors come calling."

**Okay, so that's a nice, non-cliffhanger ending for you guys. ^-^ Aren't I nice? Next chapter we check back in with Camp Half-Blood, Camp Jupiter, and, perhaps most importantly, those awesome Celestial Bronze pillows.**

**- Identity Crisis**


	7. Leo has a death wish

**Leo**

Leo's life had a funny way of whipping around when he least expected it and saying, "Oh, you thought things were working out? WRONG."

Which was pretty much what it was doing now.

Oh, like it hadn't been bad enough when Percy and Annabeth, two of his best friends, fell into Tartarus an hour ago and Hazel shot him that "It's not your fault" look which really made him feel worse instead of better, now this. Leo was no die-hard fan of the Romans, but it was his fault they thought that Camp Half-Blood was invading, and launched a strike back.

He had almost forgotten about that.

He walked up onto deck – Jason had pushed him off of the controls five minutes ago with a gruff "take a break", and he had been wandering around aimlessly ever since. He breathed in the sea air. It was such a lovely day outside – such a contrast to the fact that so many people would die. He could almost see –

A rainbow. He rushed over towards it, and the black haired girl staring back at him did nothing to his confidence. The daughter of the war goddess looked eerily pretty with her spear clutched tightly into her fingers, the two greyhounds at her feet masks of cold indifference. Her eyes were piercing, and her royal purple toga with golden armor was different than before – perhaps her battle set. She was like nightshade, Leo thought: exquisite and deadly. "Reyna!" He said happily. Reyna. Thank the gods. He didn't know her that well, but she was a thinker. She would fix everything. He changed his mind – some immortal was looking out for him.

He watched her face fall as she recognized him. "Leo." The word sounded foreign on her lips. He hadn't been aware she even knew his name. "You have a plan, right?" She was almost pleading, so Leo felt horrible as he shook his head no.

"Put Jason on." She ordered snappily.

"Can't, he's busy."

"Percy, then."

Leo shook his head. "Percy's... Not with us right now." Another rush of guilt flooded over him.

"Annabeth?" She asked, annoyed.

"With Percy." He gulped. "Before you ask for Piper, I'm just gonna save us some time and tell you they're all busy."

"Why aren't you busy?"

"I was forcibly removed from the cabin." Leo smiled. Reyna didn't smile back.

"I cannot hold back the legion for much longer." Reyna said. "The seven... They might listen to Jason and Percy. Maybe two praetors can convince them..."

"Percy and Annabeth are away." Leo snapped. "I _just_ said that."

"Can you not bring them back? What could be more important than this?" Reyna saw his angry mask fall into sadness, and her tone became more soothing. "It's alright... Just tell me what happened." She coaxed.

"They fell into Tartarus." Leo stated, and Reyna ordered him to explain, so he did. He told her everything, about Arcane, the Mark of Athena, Archimedes' scrolls and the statue in their stable. He told her about Hazel's visit with Nike and about how they couldn't make it on time... "And how did you even learn how to use an Iris message, anyway?"

"Jason taught me." She replied promptly. "I have found that it is a much more immediate form of communication than our eagles." She paused. "I shall delay the legion." Reyna said. "Perhaps... Perhaps we will meet again, Leo Valdez, under happier circumstances." Leo stood, dumbfounded, for a few seconds. What, exactly, had Reyna just proposed?

Before Leo could open his mouth to ask or even to complain about the use of his full name, Reyna slashed through the Iris message.

"Well, then." Leo said, a touch offended. _Your worst hardships are yet to come__, _a voice in is head reminded him_ You will always be the outsider, the seventh wheel. You will not find a place among your brethren._

_Shut up_, he told the voice.

Nemesis cackled in his mind. _Silly boy. _She said. _You will only hurt those you love._

Before Leo could jump into another mental argument, Jason bounded up the stairs. "We're close." He explained.

Leo followed him back into the cabin without a word. "Reyna will delay the legion as long as she can, which probably isn't much longer." He frowned. "If anyone has any brilliant ideas, now would be the time to share."

Silence. "We should send an ambassador." Jason suggested. A small murmur of assent followed, with even Coach Hedge muttering, "No fighting," After Leo looked at him strangely, he quickly added on, "this time."

"Piper should do it." Hazel suggested. "She's got a way with words." No one smiled at the joke.

"No." Leo said. "No." He repeated. Everyone looked up from their feet all at once, and Leo felt his cheeks burn as his own gaze dropped down. "I caused this. I'm going to fix it." He moved his tool belt a little. "I mean, I am a child of Hephaestus, right?" He cracked a smile, and no one returned it.

"Leo, are you sure?" Frank asked. "If you don't feel comfortable..."

"I'll do it." He said. "And I promise not to blow up anything this time." Again, no smiles. No laughs.

Tough crowd.

"Guys?" Jason said. "I think we're here." The ship had gone into autopilot, and the scenes of Camp Half-Blood now included the Argo II in between large groups of Roman and Greek demigods.

"I'll just be off then." Leo shrugged, standing up. "Whoa!" Hazel had practically knocked him over with her enthusiastic hug.

"I'm so proud of you, Leo." She whispered into his shirt. Frank was seriously giving him the evil eye, so he removed the Hazel's arms and smiled at her.

"I'm pretty proud of you too, Hazel."

And with that, Leo walked out of the cabin, squinting his eyes at the sun he was sure hadn't been this bright a moment before. "Hey." He said, watching the campers' faces contort into varying degrees of shock, relief, 'Oh my god what is this guy thinking', and sometimes all three. "My name's Leo Valdez."

**Okay, if I promise I won't kill off Leo, can you not kill me for this minor cliffhanger?**

**- Identity Crisis**


	8. Percy learns the benefit of canned fruit

**I'm sorry I didn't update. I had no internet over thanksgiving. **

**To the guy who told me to kill off Leo: That's a joke, right? It better be. I love Leo. Killing him off would be a fangirl sin. Plus, he's an important character. So that would really mess up the plot...**

**Percy**

"We need food." Annabeth said, sheathing her knife. Medusa had completely dissolved, but Percy kept Riptide out and thanked the gods he had a smart girlfriend – he was just planning on running off. "Non-perishable items." She murmured, sorting out a couple of cans of ravioli and soup and giving them to Percy, along with three boxes of crackers.

"It's going to be really hard to fight monsters carrying all this," Percy teased. He had had to put Riptide back in its sheath the second Annabeth started throwing food at him, struggling to keep it all up. He put down the food Annabeth had selected and opened the door she was pointing to with one hand, while holding a box of pasta and mattering about the importance of carbohydrates versus their need for canned fruit. (If Percy had a car, he'd totally get one of those bumper stickers that read "My girlfriend is smarter than your honor student", just to see her face.) When Percy said, "pasta," Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "I mean, fruit. Obviously." He scoffed, knowing he had chosen incorrectly. "Go produce?" Annabeth nodded and added the can to the pile.

Percy tried the door Annabeth had gestured to, only to find it locked. He analyzed the room, his gaze catching on a shiny glint of silver. He walked over to it – sure enough, it was a key on a silver chain. It was right where Medusa had been killed.

"The spoil of war." Annabeth offered, appearing behind Percy. "Interesting that it wasn't her head this time."

Percy nodded and offered Annabeth the key. "Milady."

She took it with exaggerated motions, grinning, and walked over to the locked door. Percy heard the key clicking and Annabeth's grin fade as she caught her breath. "Oh, my."

It was Medusa's collection.

It seemed that even other monsters were not immune to Medusa's gaze, because there was a collection of Empousa right near the door, their fangs bared. There were about a hundred in all; Medusa must've hidden them in here to make them think she'd changed.

"Wow." Percy said. "We _really_ need to get out of here."

Annabeth found a discarded sting backpack and packed the food inside, and Percy stopped her from swinging it over her shoulder. "Wise girl." He gestured that she should give it back, and Annabeth didn't, sticking out her tongue in a blinding display of maturity. After a few minutes of good-natured banter, Annabeth admitted defeat and relinquished the bag. Percy swung it over his shoulder, laughing to himself.

(He'd probably pay for that later, wouldn't he?)

"Let's go." Annabeth said.

And so it began. The trek was_ long_. It was _hot_. It was really, really _boring_. They played twenty questions: "What fruit would you be, if you could be any fruit at all?" "That's a stupid question, seaweed brain." "Hey!" "... I'd be an orange." Annabeth quoted old manuscripts until Percy was ready to fall asleep, and Percy, being a boy, raved about the newest first person shooter and its graphics. They talked about their friends: "I'll bet you five bucks Leo's doing something really stupid right now", "Where do you think Grover is?" and the such like. They talked about the monsters they had fought and beaten: "and then you went like, _swoosh_ with the dagger and you cut off its head. That was epic." They talked about their fears: "Are you still scared of spiders?" "What do you think?" Annabeth replied. They moved on. They talked about anything and everything and nothing at all, because that was the beauty of being with Annabeth for Percy: you could open up around her, and really be yourself. It was like they weren't in a literal hell, like they were someplace nice and cozy, just taking a walk.

But there was still that oh-shoot-we're-in-Tartarus feeling that lingered, even as they brought up every available topic _but_ that, somewhere deep in their minds.

They had been walking for hours when Percy noticed Annabeth lagging behind and suggested a break. "I'm _ fine, _seaweed brain." She said, exasperated.

"No, you're not." Percy insisted stubbornly. Then, more gently, he continued. "We both need a rest, okay?"

Annabeth nodded and Percy threw the bag of food straight at her, which she easily caught and set down on the ground next to her. Her eyes were challenging, almost, and Percy had the sudden urge to explain himself before Annabeth stabbed him for being sexist. "I burn water," he explained. "Thought I'd spare us some trouble."

Annabeth sighed, apparently accepting the explanation, and began to pick out the items she wanted to use for dinner. "Gather some firewood." She said. "It'll send up a flare to monsters, but..."

"Where am I going to find firewood here?" Percy asked.

"How about over there?" Annabeth suggested. A small Victorian cottage, puffing up tiny little clouds of smoke stared back at them, perhaps 500 feet away. It was painted a cheery color of lavender, the color Percy had seen on several '60's homes throughout the years, trimmed with white lace finishing. Out front, there were two abandoned rocking chairs, still rocking slightly, as if they were occupied a few minutes ago, or just blown through a particularly harsh wind.

It was almost sickeningly picturesque.

"Monsters." Annabeth whispered. The food lay discarded on the ground as Percy motioned for his girlfriend to take point, and she drew her celestial bronze dagger just as Percy uncapped Riptide. They edged forward in silence, pausing when they found they could hear noises coming from inside. "_We are monsterssss._" Percy heard a Scythian Dracanae proclaim. "_We are monsterssss and – DEMIGOD!_"

"Oh, shoot." Percy whispered. "And just when this was about to be a good day."

**These darn cliffhangers keep coming out of nowhere. They're**** like a plague. Reviews make me write faster - not really, but it's the thought that counts. So tell me what you thought!**

**- Identity Crisis**

**P.S. If you like Leyna and aren't currently stalking my profile, I put up a one-shot before break called Beautiful. Check it out!**


	9. Arion does not get a snack

**Sorry, I've been really busy with school... Here's chapter nine!**

**Leo**

"Can everybody hear me?" Leo asked. The campers, Greek and Roman, seemed awestruck. "Because I'm about to make an inspirational speech and I don't want to repeat it." Silence. "I'll take that as a yes." Leo said, gulping. So far, so good – at least it seemed no one was trying to kill him.

"Some of you may know me." A whoop went up from the Hephaestus cabin, who had no idea that they might've just caused World War Three. (Something told him the Romans were still mad about the whole burning-down-new-Rome thing.) Leo shot a glance over to the Romans, who stood, stock still, in their armor, with imperial gold weapons at the ready. No one was impaling him with a spear, he realized (not that he was complaining), and he followed the Roman's gazes to – not him – but Reyna. She was holding them back, he realized.

She shot him a look, one that said, _if you mess this up, Valdez, I will kill you._ Reyna had put her neck out for them, again, and he wouldn't mess this up. The pressure was starting to get bad, and he figured spontaneously bursting into flame wouldn't make the best second impression on the Romans, never mind it would be reminding them of the... Ahem, unfortunate incident with the Eidolons. Awkward.

"But I'd ask you to hear me out all the same." He paused, looking at the Romans. Reyna nodded ever-so-slightly, and he figured that that was the most conformation he would be getting for this. "There are a lot of things going on right now, and I know you don't know the full story. But I want you to know – so maybe you can see how _stupid_ this is, and how stupid _we're_ being." He let out a hollow laugh, and then it all started to pour out, grazing over his attack on New Rome and skipping straight to the I-was-possessed part of the story, talking about the celestial bronze, Narcissus, and Nemesis, Bacchus and Percy and Jason's fight, Nico – "who is actually a pretty cool dude," Leo announced, "he's been hanging with both sides, something we should take a lesson from", the aquarium and Frank's interesting choices in shape shifting forms, Heracles and Arcane and he kept talking even after he was sure everyone was bored to death. "And Percy and Annabeth aren't here." Leo found himself saying. "They aren't, and I'm not sure they will be anytime soon, because we got there and we found the statue, but Annabeth and Percy fell."

He looked around at the crowd – moment of truth time. "Into Tartarus." The Greeks and Romans gasped, and Leo could've sworn he saw Malcolm shed a couple tears. "And we don't know if they're coming back."

"But that's not really the point right now." Leo let out a breath. "The point is rather that we're fighting each other when we need to be fighting Gaea." He ran a hand through his hair. "This isn't us, guys. We've all done things we regret, and our misfortunes equal each other's. The Romans stole the statue of Athena." Turning to the Romans, he continued, "and I burned your camp down."

"And there's time for all of that: after the war we can talk about this who wronged who stuff however much you want. But Percy's gone, Annabeth's gone, and Gaea is only getting stronger. She's pushing us to this; don't you see?" Leo was pleading now, he realized. "We're fighting each other when we should be fighting her." A pause. "I know you think I don't know what I'm talking about. The Greeks and Romans have always been enemies... But it doesn't have to be that way. We have a common enemy now, and I will tell you all this: alone, we will all die."

Reyna looked at him murderously. "But _together_," Leo said, "together we have a chance of saving everyone."

Leo gulped. This was the moment of truth. "We can't let her control us. I'm not asking that you guys become best friends; I just want you to try - try getting along. I want everyone to put down their weapons right now, so we can talk like civilized people."

"Gaea's hurt us all," he whispered. "but all of us, Roman and Greek, we can beat her. You just have to trust me."

There was silence. The faces of all the campers were ashen, their expressions unreadable. _Should've let Piper do this,_ his brain whispered.

And then there was movement. On the Roman side, Reyna took three strides forward. "I am Reyna, daughter of Bellona." She said. "Leo Valdez makes a point. We will destroy ourselves if we continue to bicker amongst our ranks. Rome has always stood untied; perhaps it is time we have an ally in our fight. I stand by Leo Valdez and the Greeks, as should all of Rome." Reyna threw her spear, the point landing into the soft ground halfway between the Romans and Greeks.

"This is ridiculous!" Octavian snapped, appearing besides Reyna in a fraction of a second. "A praetor of Rome, a daughter of Bellona, surrenders! Why, you must have lost your mind!"

"Reyna's right." Lacy called. Her blonde pigtails swished back and forth as she continued. "I trust Leo, and the war is coming, whether we like it or not." Her dagger clattered to the ground, landing beside Reyna's weapon with a tiny clang as they hit each other.

"I agree." Nyssa yelled, and the Hephaestus cabin let up a roar of approval. "Leo's our brother, guys." Her double-edged sword hit the other two weapons, quickly joined by the rest of the Hephaestus cabin's swords, war machines, and one really terrifying remote controlled helicopter that appeared to be equipped with a small machine gun.

The Argo II's other wards appeared quickly, throwing their weapons into the fire one by one, and the Fifth Cohort abandoned their weapons after seeing Jason, Piper, and Frank do the same: campers they knew and trusted. Three other legionnaires stepped forward, and then six, and then fifteen.

The Aphrodite cabin began to chant something that sounded suspiciously like, "Make love, not war": Pollux and the Demeter cabin quickly followed.

Still more legionnaires stepped forward, and the entire Third Cohort tossed their javelins into the pile without a second thought.

Nike's cabin came forward, a few muttering, "_peace is not defeat_" over and over again. Hecate took down most of their glowing words, only keeping up a few labeled "protection". Iris and Hebe went with them.

Tyche's campers dropped their weapons with the Fourth Cohort, with Apollo's bow's and Hermes's... Leo didn't even recognize whatever that was. More legionnaires, and Are's children carried in their spears grudgingly behind Clarisse.

Hypnos threw in their Celestial Bronze Pillows, which crushed several Imperial Gold spears as they fell. Leo's eyes widened, a word frozen on his lips.

The last man in the Second Cohort was being yelled at by Octavian, standing annoyed in front of the fire. "We are _Romans! _We -" The soldier moved to his left, then his right, then all the way to the fire, depositing his sword and casting a look at Octavian that very clearly said, "what are you going to do about it?" The First Cohort was slowly being whittled down, coming up to the giant pile of shining metal that looked like something they would have to keep Arion far, far away from.

Nemesis seemed to be choking as they approached the pile with angry eyes, shooting the Romans a couple (fine, a lot) of dirty looks before dropping their weapons into the pile.

The First Cohort dropped the last of their weapons. Reyna met Leo's eyes, raising her eyebrows and tilting her head towards what seemed to be the last cabin armed – Athena's. _Athena hardly forgives, and she never forgets. _Judging from the eerily calm look on Malcolm's face as he approached the pile, the same went for her children. He passed the pile, walking straight to Reyna and putting his sword under her chin.

Reyna didn't flinch. Leo looked down in dismay. "Annabeth!" Leo found himself saying. "For Annabeth?"

"For Annabeth." Malcolm said softly.

"For Annabeth." He repeated.

And then Malcolm sheathed his sword and walked away.

**Phew. That was close... Who am I kidding, I couldn't kill Reyna.**

**- Identity Crisis**


	10. Two foot tall fairies-simply terrifiying

**I had no idea Leo could be so motivational. Well, I'm the author, so I guess I did, but still... Random thought: what if demigod quests must be taken in groups of prime numbers? 3 and 7. Just a thought. **

**Annabeth**

"This is bad." Annabeth muttered. "Very, very bad."

"Demigods!" a Hyperborian Giant bellowed. "Kill the demigods!"

Percy bit his lip and addressed her. "Got a plan, Wise girl?" He added more pleadingly: "_please_ tell me you've got a plan."

"I have a plan." Annabeth nodded. "But it's not a very good plan."

"We really don't have any other options right now." Percy pointed out. "What do you need me to do?"

"Buy me five minutes." Annabeth asked, and Percy put Riptide into a defensive stance.

"Will do." Annabeth began to scamper away, but Percy's voice stopped her in her tracks. "Oh, and Annabeth?" She turned around. "Love you."

Annabeth blushed, muttering something back that sounded a little like, "I love you too." It was followed by a prompt, more Annabeth-like, "Now get to work, Seaweed Brain!"

Percy smiled at her, advancing upon the horde of monsters, and she ran into the house. As soon as Percy was out of her sight, she got worried. Even when he had been invulnerable, she was still plagued with the incessant thought of Percy getting hurt, or, gods forbid, _dying_. She remembered what it felt like to touch his Achilles' heel and know that it was the only place that could kill him as she ran into the house – she had to get upstairs.

All of her thoughts blended together as her adrenaline spiked and she ran up the stairs, faster and faster until she ran into something – "Oh, dear."

"Wha?" Annabeth said. She was on the ground, and when she glanced over at her surroundings, she saw the item she had run into – a cell. The girl peering back at her from the bars was definitely human. She was young, seven or eight, with large, imploring eyes and jet black hair covering her ears.

"Are you okay?" The girl asked, blinking.

"I'm fine." Annabeth said, shrugging it off and grabbing her dagger from where it had landed, in between two floorboards.

"Are you one of them?" The girl inquired.

"One of whom?" Annabeth queried.

"You know." The girl's eyes grew, if possible, wider, and she whispered the last word like a child saying a curse word. "_Monsters._"

"No. I'm a demigod..." It suddenly dawned on Annabeth that they were in a monster's lair, and more importantly, Tartarus. "Why are you here?"

"They kept me locked up here." The girl replied quietly.

"_What?_" Annabeth asked, incredulous. Someone so young, and a _mortal_ at that, shouldn't have to go through that.

"_Annabeth!" Thalia's voice shouted. "Annabeth, help me!"_

"_Save us!" Luke yelled._

"_Don't listen, Annabeth!" Thalia spoke again. "It's a Cyclops!"_

Annabeth shook her head, snapping out of the sudden flashback and listening to the girl's story. "They were just about to kill me when you and your boyfriend showed up."

"We're getting you out of here." Annabeth decided. "Do you know where the keys are?"

"Behind you." The girl said while Annabeth retrieved the small pewter key. "Thanks." She said, smiling.

"I'm Annabeth. You're safe now." Annabeth smiled. "What's your name?"

"K-Kendra." She replied. The poor girl looked scared out of her mind. "My name is Kendra."

Annabeth nodded, swinging the door open, leaving the key in the lock. "I hope you don't mind, but we have a couple monsters down there trying to kill us."

Kendra nodded. "I can't fight – that's how they got me." Annabeth accepted her explanation.

"Kendra, are there any windows in here?"

"Yeah, there's one in my cell." Kendra offered, giggling.

_Okay_, Annabeth thought. This was getting weird. She walked towards Kendra's small cell, explaining her plan on the way. "I can jump down from the window and get onto a monster's ba-"

The door slammed shut. "Kendra?" Annabeth asked. "Kendra, what are you doing? Unlock the door!"

"I can't do that." Kendra replied merrily. She laughed, a high, shrill noise. "Sorry."

"You're not Kendra." Annabeth accused. "You never were. Kendra probably doesn't even exist."

"Well, I supposed you've outsmarted me!" Kendra replied in the same happy tone. "It's called lying, Annabeth. You mortals are such suckers."

"Who are you?" Annabeth asked.

"Why don't you figure it out, _Wise Girl?_"

"_Kobalos." _Annabeth whispered. Kobaloi were mischievous sprites, she remembered, shape-shifters.

The young girl's face contorted and she shrunk, down to about two feet high, and her hair shifted back behind her ears so Annabeth could see the small points they came to. Annabeth let out a small giggle. "How dare you laugh at my true form?!" The Kobalos shrieked. Annabeth stifled her laughter, nodding. "I stole from Heracles himself once, you know!" She seemed especially proud of this, her chest puffing up.

Annabeth, resolved to keep the small... Whatever it was... busy, to give Percy a chance. "Oh, yes." She said. The Kobalos brightened. "Children fear the mention of your name, and you are revered by all."

"Really?" Annabeth nodded, and the Kobalos sobered. "I knew that, of course. Not a single one of my kind has been up to the surface in generations. Those monsters locked me up because they thought I fought for Gaea."

"Don't you?"

"Well, yes – Gaea has promised we can wreak as much havoc on the populace as we want once she is ruler. But that's really not the point." The Kobalos rolled her eyes.

"But if you're all on the same side, then why did they lock you up?"

"They're not on our side. Idiots are down here because they refuse to fight for Gaea. Like they've got some kind of moral code." She clapped a hand over her mouth. "I wasn't supposed to tell you that."

Annabeth recognized a silhouette, coming slowly down the hall, utterly silent. The celestial bronze let off its faint glow. _Percy._ "So what's your plan, Kendra?" She asked the Kobalos. "I notice no one else is here."

"The rest of my brothers and sisters were sent aboveground. I, alone, stand vigil." Twenty meters.

"More like babysitting. It sounds like you got stuck with a bad job." Fifteen.

"It is an honor to serve Gaea. She should strike you down immediately for your insolence." Ten.

"You're right." Annabeth said, trying her best to sound serious. Five meters. "I most sincerely repent for my most grievous error." Closer... closer... Percy lifted his sword, just as the Kobalos began to ask,

"What does grievous mean?"

**Well, that was fun to write. I hope you liked it. I have absolutely no idea why I added in the bit about the Kobalos not knowing how to spell. The Kobaloi are from Greek mythology, but all of the stories I've heard about them differ, so if you've heard they act differently, that's why. **

**- Identity Crisis**


	11. Visiting Greekville

**I lost one of my dogs (and then I found her so don't worry or anything) and then Iris's Daughter sent me onto this unintentional guilt trip and I felt bad so here's chapter eleven, please don't kill me.**

Hazel

Hazel looked around her awkwardly. Jason, Piper and Leo obviously knew their way around, and they had been mobbed by shouts of "Where have you been" and "how many monsters did you kill" the second the last weapon hit the pile. The pile of weapons itself was really impractical, but she sensed it was more about the symbolic meaning – peace between the Greeks and Romans. (It didn't stop her from missing the familiar weight of her Spatha, though.)

To say the Romans looked uncomfortable was an understatement. Reyna was just... standing there, and it seemed everyone else seemed to follow her lead. A few brave souls came up to Hazel or Frank, muttering the same barely audible message: _Are you sure?_ Over and over again, they asked, "Can we trust them?" and Frank would say, "of course," like that was the kind of thing that Romans did regularly.

Hazel glanced at Frank. Frank smiled at her, and she attempted a weak smile of her own. She didn't know how long they stood there, smiling, but when Leo appeared, she snapped out of it.

"Well," Leo smiled. "There's food near the campfire," he turned and pointed, "don't forget to sacrifice. Don't know if you Romans do that, but our Greek dudes get pretty angry if you don't. There's a limited number of seats at the tables..." He turned back to face the crowd of Romans, who had all mysteriously disappeared. "Hey, where'd everybody go?"

Hazel opened her mouth to answer, but Reyna beat her to it. "They left when you mentioned food."

"Oh." He sighed exaggeratedly. "Why in the world did I think that you high and mighty Romans would be any different from us lowly Greeks?"

Hazel bit back a retort against her... Well, not her _country_, per say, but... What was the word? The point is, she was Roman, that was offensive, and Hazel was _this close_ to imagining Leo's slow and painful death.

(And then she realized that being a demigod and all, Leo had a very low chance of survival into adulthood, which made her feel bad.)

Reyna shot Hazel a look that said _can you believe this idiot? _and Hazel shrugged in response. Reyna coolly replied, "This is coming from the guy who blew up my city."

"Who died and made it yours?" Leo blurted out before covering his mouth with both hands. "Didn't mean that, sorry. I know you're their congresswoman or something."

"_Senator._" Reyna corrected. "And I have no doubt that you meant every word of that." Reyna turned. "The Legion was not exactly preparing to be guests here." One look at Reyna's battle armor said it all. The two greyhounds lying at her feet looked at Hazel and thumped their mechanical tails. Hazel had noticed that the dogs were good indicators of Reyna's mood, and she was happy to see they weren't growling like they had been half an hour earlier.  
"Yeah, something tells me you were planning on burning it to the ground. It's good you didn't, because all my cool stuff is here." Leo looked around. "We weren't exactly expecting company either." Most campers had retreated into their cabins or were eyeing the Romans hostilely. The aggression, however, was diminished by the fact that they were usually trying to glare and eat a green bean.

"We sort by godly parents here. Did I tell you guys that?"

"You might have mentioned it." Frank said, looking around.

Hazel blew a stray hair out of her face. It floated on the breeze again before returning to its previous spot. She blew on it again. There was a conversation going on around her, but Hazel wasn't paying attention to it. Frank picked up the curly stand gently, tucking it behind her ear. His ears turned fire engine red when she looked up at him again, and he made a point to look straight ahead instead of at her.

Reyna spoke to Leo after a period of silence. "You will give us a tour of the premises, yes?"

It did not sound like a question.

"This is the property line." Leo grinned. "Mortals think it's a strawberry farm." Leo began walking hesitantly, and Reyna's long strides quickly outpaced him. He laughed, walking faster, and Reyna grinned.

"Ah, Leo Valdez. You cannot outpace me." Leo took it as a challenge and walked even faster, and he was soon even to Reyna.

Frank turned to Hazel hesitantly, ears still red. "Spit it out, Frank. It won't bite."

"Are they..."

"No."

"And she's..."

"Yeah."

"But they're..."

"_Frank._" Hazel snapped. "They're not together, they are flirting in that slightly odd Leo way, but they might _just be friends_."

"Are you guys coming?" Leo asked. Frank and Hazel ran to catch up.

When they did, Leo clapped his hands in faked over-enthusiasm. "I am Leo Valdez," Leo began in a falsetto tone, "and I will be your tour guide today!"

"_Leo_." Hazel, Frank and Reyna chorused.

"You guys are no fun at all. There's arts and crafts," Leo pointed, "and the lake."

"What's that?"

"Oh, that ominous-looking building? That's the Big House. It's like the Senate in Rome, I guess, but with more ping-pong."

"Ping-pong?" Reyna asked.

"Ping-pong," Hazel and Frank confirmed.

"Farther up thatta way is the amphitheater and the climbing wall." He pointed again. "I'll take you to the cabins."

They passed over a river, and Leo pointed out the armory, stables, and arena, which were in the other direction. "The mess hall, which all of your campers abandoned us for, is past the cabins."

"And here we are." He said, holding out his hands to display them.

It was different than Camp Jupiter, but Hazel couldn't decide if that was good or bad. The cabins were arranged in an Omega and were all different shapes and sizes, ranging from grass-roofed to solid gold.

"Leo, you would have been a good child of Aphrodite." Leo's eyes widened as Hazel laughed internally at Frank's comment.

"Aphrodite? She's... Venus?" Hazel nodded in response to Reyna's question. "I could see that."

Leo sulked.

"There are certainly a lot of them."

"Twenty, I think." Reyna said. "Look, Leo, it's your cabin!" She pointed out the Aphrodite dollhouse. Hazel could make out Piper standing outside, next to two other campers who she was talking to. Piper caught Hazel's eyes and beamed, waving to her friend. Hazel waved back, nudging Frank to do the same.

Jason was still nowhere to be seen.

Taking Leo's silence as admittance, Reyna looked around. "Where is Bellona's cabin?"

Leo smiled, glad for a question he could answer. "Bellona's a Roman goddess. _Ergo_, no cabin in Greekville."

"Did you just seriously call Camp Half-Blood _Greekville?_"

"Yes." Leo said, his posture improving slightly. "I believe I did."

**If you liked it, review. If you hated it, review. If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands before reviewing.**

**- Identity Crisis**


	12. Scary Monsters and Scarier Girlfriends

**Percy**

"What took you so long?" Annabeth asked. She looked terrified, and Percy dropped his sword, running forward. Annabeth looked terrified, but she seemed relieved that Percy had arrived. "Thank the gods, Percy, I was so worried."

"You seemed to have everything under control." Percy shrugged. (It seemed better than "Please, please, please never leave me ever again.") "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just-" Annabeth remembered. "Percy, the Kobaloi. It said the monsters weren't working for Gaea." Percy smiled at his girlfriend – she'd be placated soon enough.

"I know." Percy beamed proudly. "Sal told me. Where's the key?"

"Over there," Annabeth pointed, fine until the rest of Percy's statement set in. "Wait, who's Sal?"

"Eh, don't worry." Percy laughed, dismissing her imagination with a wave. "He's a friend," Percy answered vaguely, unlocking the door. "Hate the Koba-whatevers, too."

"_Kobaloi._" Annabeth corrected, watching Percy fiddle with the lock.

"Yeah, okay. Koba... Kobaloi?" Annabeth nodded. "They couldn't kill her, so they locked her up."

"Kobaloi are tricksters, that's for sure," Annabeth kicked the floor, "but I never thought they'd be capable of the kinds of things she was talking about."

Percy had the feeling he should say something comforting, like 'it wasn't your fault', but she was the one who had let the Kobaloi out of the cage – not her shining moment. He said it anyway, just as he finished unlocking the door. Annabeth chuckled, hugging her boyfriend tight.

"I... I missed you." They blurted out at the same time, and Annabeth blushed.

"Is this what it's going to be like all the time? It feels like..." Annabeth shrugged, unable to find the word she sought for.

"I know," Percy grinned down at her. "from now on, we're a team."

"Always have been, seaweed brain." Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You can't get rid of me."

"Who says I wanted to?" Percy arched an eyebrow at his girlfriend. "We should go and meet Sal now." Percy said, not breaking eye contact with Annabeth.

Annabeth nodded, and Percy didn't want to leave anymore. "We should." She gently pushed Percy's arms off of her and slipped her hand into his. She started off at a quick pace, giving Percy time to catch up with his longer strides. Their hands swung in between them, and Percy gave her hand a quick squeeze.

"Please don't freak out." Percy said, facing Annabeth as they approached the closed door to the outside. "Sal and his friends... Take some getting used to."

"I won't freak out, Percy." Annabeth sighed. "I'm sure Sal's perfectly nice. We'll get along great."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Percy muttered under his breath. "I'm going to open the door in a second."

"Percy," Annabeth warned, her eyes flashing with annoyance. "Just open the door."

He turned the doorknob, walking with the door so it was completely open and Annabeth could see past. He gauged her reaction, first shock, then disbelief, and then horror. "Oh my gods, Percy." She whispered, drawing her dagger. "I thought you got them all." She looked around, horrified, at the group of monsters.

"Annabeth," Percy chided. "Put the dagger away. You're scaring our new friends." He was grinning through his teeth, but his eyes betrayed his worry. Annabeth hesitated for a moment, and, throwing the group of monsters another suspicious glance, sheathed her dagger. She looked back up at Percy for instruction, but he only shrugged in response.

"Ey." The most humanoid of the group, what appeared to be a man in his early twenties, stood. "Percy, who's the chick?" Percy bit his lip to keep himself from commenting. _Annabeth is not a "chick". _

"Sal!" Percy's tone was that of a greeting for an old friend, even though he had met the man scarcely an hour ago. Sal looked like a lawyer, with gelled back brown hair and shifty eyes. He was wearing a zoot suit, and one hand was shoved into his pocket, the other taking a long drag from a cigarette. "This is my girlfriend, remember? Annabeth. Annabeth, this is Sal." Annabeth muttered a small 'hi', and Percy watched as her gaze shifted back onto Sal's companions.

"So, kid." He addressed Annabeth, who met his gaze. "I heard you're looking for the Doors of Death."

"How do you know that?" Annabeth asked, shocked, before turning to her boyfriend. "Percy!" There was a sort of anger in her voice that he knew she was trying to hold back, and in that moment, Percy would rather face Kronos' army a hundred more times than deal with Annabeth while she was this angry.  
"They're just trying to help." Percy gulped, pleading. "I thought you said you wouldn't be angry!"

"That was before I knew that..." She looked away from Percy, tilting her head towards the monsters. "well, you know."

"Listen, sister." Sal said, still looking at Percy. "Your boyfriend here did a good thing. We owe him one. We don't owe you nothing." Annabeth cringed at the grammar, but stayed silent. "Listen. You wanna get to the Doors, we're gonna need a little cooperation, you feel me?"

"Sal." A monster, dressed as a private school attendee (right down to the pigtails), addressed the older man with mixed reverence and fear. Sal had told Percy before he went up to get Annabeth that her name was Tracey. She placed her hands on her hips and glared at Percy. "We can't trust them. Not with our safe house."

"We owe the kid a debt, Trace." He smiled crookedly. "And we always deliver." Tracey rolled her eyes and accepted the logic, still glaring at the demigods.

"Safehouse?" Annabeth asked, and Percy refrained from telling her his thoughts mirrored hers.

Sal laughed, a hollow sound. "We aren't exactly popular 'round here. There's a place near the Doors where we keep our stuff, and we'd rather it not be disturbed."

"Done." Percy said. "Where are the doors?"

Sal grinned, his overly-white teeth gleaming a smile that would make a politician envious. "I was hoping you'd ask."

**So I watched my first episode of Downton Abbey last night and I'm just asdfghjkl. EVERYTHING IS SO PRETTY AND IT HURTS SO BADLY BECAUSE IT'S SO TRAGIC AND YET SO BEAUTIFUL AND AAAGH (I watched the Christmas one).** **I'm also starting Supernatural, and I love, love, **_**love **_**it! Just felt like sharing. Thank you guys for you everlasting patience with me.**

**- Identity Crisis**


	13. The Senior Counsel likes cheez whiz

**Helllooooooooooooooo. Orange. Banana. There's a bookstore closing near my house and I bought some books and oh my gods **_**Jem and Will **_**and if you know who Jem and Will are you are a wonderful human being and if you don't, do not speak to me until you have read the Infernal Devices because you will cry but in a good way.**

Jason

"I don't understand?" Jason queried, a touch nervously. His back sank into the couch, and he felt surrounded. "Why am I here?"

'Here' was a rec room in the big house with a bunch of important Greeks, all situated around a ping-pong table with expressions far too serious for people sitting around a ping-pong table. Clovis just looked tired, but the other camp counselors studied him with a stern gaze. If Jason hadn't been a praetor, he might've felt uncomfortable. No, Jason was most certainly not uncomfortable, not at all – well, maybe a little bit.

"Welcome," Travis Stoll boomed like a wrestling announcer, "to the _SENIOR COUNSEL!_" The effect was lessened by Connor, holding a bottle of Cheez-Whiz and aiming it into Travis'mouth. They guffawed and high-fived, and Jason struggled to keep the smile off his face.

"Oh." Jason scratched the back of his head. "Look, that's nice, but we really only came to stop everyone from killing each other. We need to go pretty soon."

"That's the thing, punk." Clarisse said. She flicked dirt from her fingernails out from underneath them and fixed him with a glare. "We can't just let you go."

"Well, of course you can." Jason laughed. "Why wouldn't you?"

"Look at him." Butch replied. "Roman as they come."

"First," Pollux said, "we can't just house all these Romans."

"Why not?" Jason's brow furrowed. "I'm Roman."

"Goodwill or not, they were willing to kill us a few hours ago. We can't risk them changing their minds."

Jason stiffened. He knew Pollux hadn't meant it as an accusation, but the words stung like knives. "The Romans wouldn't do that."

"Jason, I wish we thought that all Romans were like you and your friends, but we don't." Pollux continued.

"I don't trust them as far as Travis can throw them," Connor laughed, slapping his knee.

"Romans... We work differently than the Greeks. If you give us some space in the woods, they can make it work. If there's an attack, all of our forces, Greek and Roman, should be in the same place." Jason offered. The woods was a peace offering. Not in the camp, but not out of it either. Jason realized was using _we_ and _they _interchangeably, and thought sadly that he wasn't quite Roman anymore. _But then again, _he thought_, I'm not Greek either._

So what did that make him? Jason used to think he knew, but now... Now all he was sure of were his friends and Piper. To put it in Travis's words, he mused wryly, he didn't trust either of the sides as far as Travis could throw them. He needed Percy and Annabeth back for selfish reasons too: the seven of them together had seemed unstoppable. It gave Jason confidence to have all the quest members, and their imprisonment had thrown him off. How was he supposed to deal with two of the strongest people he'd ever met being gone so suddenly? How was he supposed to lead in their absence?

Pollux nodded slowly. "Reasonable. We'll talk to Reyna."

"Second, and more importantly," Clarisse ordered, "we can't just let you go off wherever you want with no repercussions." Jason wondered if Clarisse, with her arrogant sneer, even knew what that word meant. "You're just kids."

"We're the same age!" Jason rolled his eyes. "Are you serious?"

Clovis yawned. "Jason, we only want what's best for you guys. Of course it's important to get Annabeth and Percy back. No one's arguing with that. You just might not be the ones to do it." Clarisse cracked her knuckles as Clovis spoke, fixing Jason with a predatory gaze. Jason wanted to yell something about beating Krios with his own hands and that a drakon was nothing compared to that, but he figured that wouldn't earn him points in the maturity column, so he simply didn't answer.

"Look, there's a reason you're the only one here." Butch commented. Jason internally sighed in relief. He'd been wondering why he was singled out, even though at least Leo and Piper, and counselors, should be there. Nico, too, was absent, furthering his suspicions. "You're a voice of reason. They'll listen to you."

Jason scratched the back of his neck and gave the camp counselors a sheepish smile. "You know that'll never work. Annabeth and Percy are our friends. We have to save them. And the quest -" he looked at Clarisse. "you should know that we sons of the big three have a nasty knack for showing up on quests that aren't ours."

Clarisse rolled her eyes. "Listen, punk. Your judgment's clouded. You miss them, we all do. Don't let it get in the way of a rational decision."

"It's not." Jason scoffed. "I'm thinking very rationally right now, and that's why it's so important that we go on this quest. Nico and the rest of us are best equipped to take this on. Piper, Leo, Frank, Hazel and I have all had prior experience with quests, and we're five of the seven the prophecy speaks of. Nico will come with us. He's been to Tartarus before, and he'll know where to go."

"Think about it." Miranda, who had been silent for the duration of – well, Jason didn't know exactly what it was – spoke tentatively. "It was a hard decision for us too, to even ask you to come here. We want them back as much as you do."

"Get out, punk." Clarisse ordered, placing a hand over her eyes. "I cannot believe I'm saying this, but... If you do go, be careful."

"We will. Or as careful as a couple of ultra-powerful half-bloods can be with Leo manning the ship." Jason laughed weakly, standing up.

When he got out of the big house, he was mobbed by his friends. "No secrets here," Jason mumbled.

"Out with it," Frank complained. "The suspense is killing me."

Jason looked at the Big House for a moment more. Leading again, having people look to him for answers, felt like coming home. "Get the ship ready." He ordered Leo. "We leave in an hour."

**YAY! FIN. DONE. KAPUT. OVERRRR. (Well, until the next chapter.) Have a lovely day, you wonderful human being/unicorn/alien/demon/Pegasus/alicorn/time lord (or lady)/out of fandom references check back later. Read the Infernal Devices if you haven't already and then thank me because **_**Jem and Will and Tessa that's why**_**.**

**- Identity Crisis**


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